This Briefing Report was prepared for the seventh ITU Regulatory Colloquium, held at ITU Headquarters in Geneva on 3-5 December 1997. The topic of the Seventh Colloquium was a detailed examination of the present crisis in the international system by which payments are made between countries for international telecommunications services (known, for short, as the "accounting rate" problem). The Colloquium examined in detail alternatives to the present system as well as means by which the system may be adjusted to reflect current realities.